Butte semi-weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1886-1890, 1887-12-17
SEEPAGE WATER.

A New Meaning Attached to That Term
W~aterJulian Smiths Explanation of
His Letter In the Inter Mountaiu-He
Signed 1t at the Request Of the Writer of
1t.
Yesterday afternoon Mr.. Julian Smith.
whose statement regarding the so-called
"seepage" water in the pump-house was
published in the Inter Mountain az q
clincher Of all that was said against the
water works, called in The MINER office to
explain his position thereon. He was
shown the published report of his inter-
view with a MINER reporter on October
goth, and did not find anything in it to re-
tract. He said that he had signed the state.
ment published in the Inter Mountain at
the request OF DR.. Hough, who wrote it,
and the statement was true, and, on being
questioned, he explained it as follows: II
understand seepage water to be water that
comes in on the side of a well, ever il it
comes in at a point thirty feet under
ground. That seems to be what they call
seepage water now. The water that is called
seepage water in the statement written by
DIR. Hough, was struck in a thin streak of
sand, that was cut after digging through
a stratum OF clay, about ten or twelve
feet from the surface. 1t is not surface
water, and I believe it to be just as pure
as the water from under the second stra-
tum OF clay that springs up in the bottom
Of the wells. I estimated the amount of
water coming from under the first stratum
OF clay at five inches, but I did not meas
ure it. The statement I made was not in
tended to do harm to the water company,
and should not, as the water referred to
ia go,d. 1t does not come from the direc-
ton of the creek. but from the opposite
side. l made the statement to oblige DR..
Housh. The water coming from the out
side wells, together with that from under
the first stratum Of clay, makes a volume
of fifteen inches. We struck q better flow
from under the first stratum after your
first visit to the pump station, and that is
why I told you then that we struck none
to speak of at the depth If twelve feet,
when you vera there" Thus it il
proved that Mr.. Smiths statement,
published in the Inter Mountain as a
clincher really has a very different meaning
from that ascribed to it. Mr.. Smith has
been taught that all subterranean water
that flows through gravel or sand, or any
oIuOA kSi buUSUduCcs 10 6ccpdSc
water, NJ matter how rapidly it may flow,
and has been led into signing a statement
that gives al impression wide OF the truth,
by not telling all the truth. 1t says the
water is COLLECTED and conducted upon the
bed of clay through inverted boxes" but
~neglects to recite the fact that the inverted
boxes are also buried ten feet under the
top bed of clay, and thus effectually cut off
from all possibility of contamination by
surface water. Mr.. Smiths explanation
is co%rroborative of Mr.. Kramer's, in prov
ing conclusively that there is no founda-
ton for the statement Of the Health Com
mittee that 'surface water" was conducted
into the pump station well. The state.
ment that the wells at the boarding houses
were sunk in feat is shown to be untrue in
fact. The word "seepage" has been divest-
ed OF it's original meaning, al defined by
Webster. "to ooze or drain slowly" and
in future must be understood to apply to
the most copious springs, wherever they
may be found, Mr.. Blaine has accepted
this Interpretation, rather than argue the
question, u says all water in this section
Of Montana is seepage water.